Golfing accessory for positioning golf tee



6, 1957 D. E. HOTTLE 2,801,852

GOLFING ACCESSORY FOR POSITIONING GOLF TEE Filed June 8, 1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 VENTOR HDWIGHT HOTTLE ATTORNEY 6, 1957 D. E. HOTTLE 2,801,852

GOLFING ACCESSORY FOR POSITIONING GOLF TEE Filed June 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r F I G 6 I DWIGHT L-T f figf i'LE ATTORNEY 1 GOLFIN G AGCESSDRY FFOR POSITIQNIN G GOLF TEE Dwight-"EfiHottle, Akron, Ohio Application June 8, 1955,,Serial No. 514,083

4 Claims. (615273-133 of the golf ball,.and having an axially-spaced pointed end.

which is intended topierce theground so as .to horizontallyspacetthe cup end o'f the golfteeat a'slightly elevated position above the ground.

Undernorrnal conditions, the user of ag lf tee merely atent O Figures 71 and 2 thereof, theimprovejcl tee holder genpushes the pointed end of the tee into the groun'dby manual force to effectuate positioning of the golf tee. However, during a dry spell, when the ground becomes hard, it is oftentimes di'fiicultto effectuate such position- .-ing, because su'flicientl downwardpressure cannotibe applied centrally=of the cuptarea-to cause 'the golf tee to,

pierce thehard ground. Accordingly, tees willbeoften- .times brokenorimproperly positioned during'such periods when the ground, is' hard.

As .a further disadvantage .of such manual lforms of positioning gdlf tees as are .above described, it will be tnotedhthatno means are provided for positioning the cup headaat a uniform distance above thegroundontrepeated :occasions of use,.with..theresult.thatthe golflball will invariably be located at {different elevatio ns .zibove vthe groundtupontteeingtup on successive holes. Such inaccuraciestin positioning the golf tee frequently .resultjn detrimental variation in .the trajectory .flight of ,the .golf *ball' whentthesame is :struckby thergolfer.

'Jn addition to the. aforementioneddifficulty in teeing a 'golftball, taagolfer has ioccasion frequently to ,tightenthe spikeslof his,golf.shoes that are llSBdrlIl the ,playingof ;the {game of ,golf. Failure i0 .tighten tthese ikes .or rcleatspromptly oftentimes results. inthe same ,being ,prematurely separated from-the shoe of the.user.during..the l playing of a round of golf. I Accordingly, iiti is one object of this r, invention to pror vide a tee positioning-devicethat enables ,the user thereof l to accurately position the head of a golftee at a uniform elevation at eaeh-per-iod -of use.

{It is a "further-objecbofthis invention to provide a i tee positioning device that-enables the user 'there'of to position a golf tee in hard, dry ground without damage to the golf tee.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a golfing accessory that functions to accurately position the head of a golf tee at a predetermined elevation above any ground surface, whether the same be hard or soft, and further characterized by the fact that the same is capable of tightening golf spikes or cleats that are pro vided on golfing shoes.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide ice :2 a; golfing accessory of the character above described, that is of simplified construction having a minimumnumber "of component parts and being capable 'oif being mass- 'produced 'at a relatively low unit cost.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following brief specification, consideredand interpreted in' thelight of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective elevation'illustrating a golfing "tee being supported in the-improved positioning device that is ,heldin thehand of a user.

Figure 2 is an elevation view illustrating .the use of -"the improved positioning devicefor positioning'a golfing tee intoa ground surface.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on thelines 3- 3 "of Figure 2.

Figure4 is .a'view taken onthe'lines 44 of Figure 2.

-FigureS isa perspective view illustrating the operation *of a modified form of the invention "fortightening golf *spikes or cleats.

Figurefi is -a sectional view of thejmodifiedform of the invention.

Figure 7 is a view-taken on the lines-7-7.of Figure 6. 'Re'ferring now ;to the drawings, and in particula gto erally designatedas 10, is shown receiving a 'golf teeT so that the pointed-end "I thereof projects therefrom for p'oSiti'oning in ground G upon application of force by han'd H. V

Structurally, the tee holder. '10 isshown as;being defined-bya'gr'ipping handle 11 and a circular body;portion lz'that joins with the gripping handle 11 so asjto-form therewith'a T-shaped holder 10,1the arrangement'being suchdhat finger cut-outs 13, 13 facilitate gripping of handle 11, while anenlargedfoot portion 14 isprovided on; the freeendof the body portion 12 for engagement with'groundG when the component parts arepositioned -as shown in Figure 2.

For*the;purpose of receiving the golfteeT,"thebody portion 12 includes an elongated tapered slot flilthat extendsinwardlyfrom the exterior surface ofbody portion 1-2 to provide a complementally-shaped recess "for the To the end of effectuating this complern'ental relationship between the. slot 20 andthB gOIf tee T, the slotl20, best illustrated in Figure 2, is shown in cross sectional configuration as havingan enlarged'head opening "21 the vertical, height of which is defined bythehorizbntalsur- -face"12a of the body'section 12; while the oppositefree "end 22 of the slot Zil-is shown as being'of reduced crossseetional areaso as to be receivable about the sternportion Tsof the golf tee T.

For the purpose of clarity, the point of juncture of -the s'lotfltlfwith the exterior surface. of thebody portion *12"will ;behereinafter designated as opening 23, while thepoint'of juncture of the slot;20 with the exterior surface of the'foot portion 14 will hereinafter be.designated as opening 24. It is believed apparent thaLa certain amount 'of clearance will exist between the slot 20 and th'e golf tee T to thus permit accommodation of different size tees. Howeveniniviewof the direct force application'through .surface 112 1, suchclearance will not affect the positioning ofthe tee.

In use or operation of the improved tee holder 10, the user thereof merely grips the handle portion 11 so as to present the opening 23 thereof upwardly; and with the device 10 in this position, a golf tee T may be easily inserted into the slotted opening 20 by passing the same through the opening 23 that is provided on the exterior surface of the body portion 12, so as to permit the golf tee T to be received within the slot 20, as best shown 32, 32 will not affect the operation of the device as a merely pushes the pointed end Tp of the tee into the ground, and during the time that the pointed end of the tee is being pushed into the ground as just described, it is apparent that the head T1 will be urged against the flat area 12a of the body portion 12, .with the result that this surface will transmit the requisite pushing force to the golf tee to cause the pointed end T thereof to pierce the ground, whether the same be hard or softp In. every case, the extent of the degree to which the golf tee T will pierce the ground G will be fixed as a result of the exterior surface of the foot portion 14 coming in contact with the ground G, as best shown in Figure 1. At such time as this contact is made between the foot portion 14 and the ground G, further pushing move ment of the tee into the ground Will be impossible; and accordingly, the tee will be properly positioned at such time as the foot portion 14 engages the ground G. When such contact has been made, the user merely removes his thumb from its position of covering over opening 23 and slides the holder 10 to one side so as to permit the removal of the same from its surrounding relationship with respect to the golf tee T. At this time, the golf tee will be accurately positioned and the golf ball may be placed upon the same in known manner.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there has been provided a new and novel type of golf tee holder that will accurately and uniformly position a golf tee so that the head or ball supporting portion thereof is automatically fixed in a predetermined elevation above the ground in each case of usage. It has been further shown how the golf tee holder above described, is of simplified construction, thus indicating that the same can be easily produced on a mass production basis. While the sectioning of the drawings of Figures 1 to 4 of the invention illustrate that the preferred embodiment of the invention is made of plastic material, it is to be understood that any other suitable material could be used in this regard, it being apparent that the structural qualities of the material employed do not affect the operation of the device.

The modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings is similar in every respect to that previously described and shown in Figures 1 to4 of the drawings, with the single exception that a modified type of foot portion 14 is provided. Accordingly, where indicated, like numerals designate like parts.

Referring now to Figure of the drawings, it will be seen that the modified tee holder 16 is shown positioned so as to effectuate a tightening action upon a cleat C that is provided on the usual golf shoe S.

As best shown in Figures 6 and 7, the modified foot surface of said body and said internal end of said bore;

portion 14 includes a concave surface 3t) provided on the ground engaging side of a foot member 14 and joining .with the slot 20 as at 31, to define a rectangular cutout the projecting ends 32a, 32a thereof capable of being received in the openings 40, 40 of the cleat member C. In this manner, when the cleat C is positioned as shown tee holder, in view of the fact that the plane of the same does not materially extend below the ground-engaging plane of the foot portion 14, to thus interfere with the ground-engaging function of the same.

It follows that other modifications of the invention may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A tee-positioning device comprising; a unitary bod having a ground-engaging surface and a blind bore ex tending inwardly of said surface and defining an elongated cavity surrounded by a wall having an internal end; said wall of said blind bore having an elongated opening therethrough that extends between the ground-engaging surface of said body and the internal end of said bore; said bore increasing in dimension along its length and having its largest dimension interiorly of said body ad jacent the internal end of said bore.

2. A tee-positioning device comprising; a unitary body having a ground-engaging surface and a blind bore extending inwardly of said surface and defining an elon-- gated cavity surrounded by a Wall having an internal end; said wall of said blind bore having an elongated opening therethrough that extends between the groundengaging surface of said body and the internal end of said bore; said elongated opening increasing in dimension along its length and having its greatest width adjacent said internal end of said bore.

3. A tee-positioning device comprising; a unitary body having a ground-engaging surface and a blind bore extending inwardly of said surface and defining an elongated cavity surrounded by a wall having an internal end; said Wall of said blind bore having an elongated opening therethrough that extends between the ground-engaging surface of said body and the internal end of said bore; said bore increasing in dimension along its length and having its largest dimension interiorly of said body adjacent the internal end of said bore; said opening also increasing in dimension along its length and having its greatest width adjacent said internal end of said bore.

4. An accessory device of the character described; comprising, a unitary body of generally cylindrical configuration having a handle end and a flat opposed axial end surface, said body having a blind bore extending in- Wardly of said surface and defining an elongated cavity that is surrounded by a Wall having an internal end; said wall of. said blind bore having an elongated opening therethrough that extends between said flat axial end said bore increasing in dimension along its length and having its largest dimension interorly of said body adjacent the internal end of said bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 748,923 Bryant Jan. 5, 1904 2,606,764 Mason Aug. 12, 1952 2,609,198 Armstrong Sept. 2, 1952 

